The Veteran's initial 10 percent disability rating for anal fistula is being remanded due to the need to obtain outstanding private treatment records from Dr. M.G. and the Lexington Clinic.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to attempt to contact the Veteran regarding a request for his private medical records, which may be pertinent to his claim on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- anal fistula
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074379
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for anal fistula secondary to an anal abscess, finding that the additional disability was a normal consequence of the natural progression of the disease and not caused by fault on the part of VA medical treatment.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residuals of a perirectal abscess, to include an anal fistula requiring surgery, as the additional disability was not caused by VA medical treatment and there was no failure to timely treat or diagnose the condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's anal fistula disability is granted a 60 percent rating, but no higher, effective June 25, 2014. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss from January 23, 2014 remains denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a TDIU was granted. The remaining issues on appeal, including service connection and rating claims, were dismissed due to the Veteran's request for withdrawal of these claims.
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